Blog Post

The Hub Hornby

The Hub Hornby shopping centre has complex vertical transport needs, with multiple lifts, escalators and travelators catering to the thousands of customers that visit the mall each day. For Centre Manager Jason Marsden, finding knowledgeable contractors with a consultative approach is a big part of keeping the mall running smoothly. 

The centre’s previous lifts service agents primarily focused on their own brand of machinery, which wasn’t installed on site at the Hub. As a result Jason found it could be difficult to get the right level of service to quickly resolve issues. 

D&M Solutions now take care of the Hub’s monthly maintenance, repairs, and callouts, plus bigger projects and long-term upgrades. They also provide advice and recommendations to support Jason in making the best decisions for the centre.

“[D&M Managing Director Stuart Mitchell] is always available to talk, and of course, he’s got a lot of knowledge,” Jason says. “He’s a person that’s hands-on, and hands-on on our behalf when it comes to talking to overseas suppliers as well - which can be quite an art form in itself.”

When a mechanical issue comes up there are often a range of potential solutions, all with their own risks and benefits. The D&M team work with Jason to present the available options, make recommendations, and implement the solution which will deliver the best outcome for the Hub.

In one case an escalator handrail needed replacing - a job which required a lot of thought despite sounding like a simple repair. Jason says there was “a lot of discussion” around the replacement part. 

“Do we go back to the original factory? Do we go to the original factory but specify a better brand of handrail? Do we go off-market and source one independently? [...] We talked through the options [with D&M] and ended up settling on a solution together, which was a good way to go forward.”

D&M are on site at the Hub several times a month for routine maintenance and callouts, and Jason says their responsiveness provides significant benefits to the centre. 

“If there is a breakdown they’re always very fast to respond,” he says. “They’re a small enough company that they give personalised customer care, and it’s very responsive, but they’re not so small that they don’t have the skill and the labour resource to service a site of this size.”
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